Dummy display box



March 14, 1933.

F. A. MARX DUMMY DISPLAY BOX Filed July 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR A TTORNEY March 14, 1933. F. A. MARX DUMMY DISPLAY BOX Filed July 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1N VENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 14, 1933 far as possible UNITED} STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK A. MARX, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE RICHARDSON TAYLOR-GLOBE CORPORATION, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO DUMMY DISPLAY BOX Application filed July 24, 1930. Serial No. 470,438.

This invention relates to a dummy display box made of cardboard in such manner that it can be shipped flat to the user and can be quickly set up. The particular ob ect of the invention is to provide a dummy box of this character folded and glued to form a tray at the top, in which to place a display layer of real or dummy cigars or other articles. The construction of the box is also such as to provide a part which stands at an upward and rearward inclination to represent an open lid.

It is customary to use actual boxes of cigars with their lids open for purposes of display. This requires an extra stock of goods and involves a serious loss in cigars which become unsalable as the result of exposure, in addition to which the boxes themselves are comparatively expensive. A great saving can, therefore, be realizedby using the dummy boxes of the present 1 1'lV6I11l10I1, particularly when a layer of papier-mach dummies is used instead of real cigars. The dummy boxes themselves are cheap to manufacture, and because they fold flat the expense of shipping them is low.

Exposed edges of the box are folded as in double thickness to avoid showing raw cardboard edges and to give sufficient apparent thickness to make it possible, with appropriate decoration, to slmulate a real cigar box closely enough for display purposes.

Boxes constructed in accordance with the invention may also be designed to represent boxes of articles other than cigars.

In the accompanying drawings forming part hereof:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal'section through a box set-up and having a layer of articles or dummy articles on the tray, the display lid being partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, the articles being omitted in this view and in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a blank; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the box glued and collapsed flat for shipment.

The box has a collapsible open-ended parback and front walls 1, 3 and an upper wall 4. The front and back walls are preferably continuous with the bottom wall, and the upper wall 4 is preferably continuous with either the front wall or the back wall, being secured to the other of these Walls by gluing or otherwise. As illustrated, it is continuous with the front wall, and is glued to the back wall by means of a glue lap 5 which is bent up from the rear edge of the wall 4 and applied to the inner surface of the back wall.

The front and back walls 3, 1 are extended upwardly above the upper wall 4, these upward extensions 25 and 26 forming the front and back of an open-top tray integral with the body. The bottom of this tray, hereto-,,

' the other hand with the wall 4 which forms the bottom of the tray.

The rear extension comprises the upper portion of the back wall and the glue lap 55, but no raw edges are here visible, because of the presence. of a display lid 36. This part is termed a display lid, since its purpose is to represent an open box lid extending upward and rearward from the back wall, rather than to serve functionally as a cover.

This lid is composed of two thicknesses 18 and 19, preferably continuous with each other and with the back wall 1, and the front layer 19 is continued to provide a lap 20 which is bent down against the front face of the glue lap 5. concealing the raw edge of the latter. In the most practical embodiment. the continuous material of which the body is formed is bent rearward and upward from the back wall 1 to form the layer 18 of the lid, and at the upper edge 29 of the lid the material is folded back upon itself to form the front layer 19. The layers 18 and 19 may or may not be glued together, flllld the lap 20 may or may not be glued in ace. P End walls 11 of the dummy box are hinged to the bottom wall at .10, being preferably continuous with this wall, and are extended upward above the tray bottom 4 to form tray ends 30 of equal height with the front and back of the tray. These tray ends are also of two thicknesses-formed by folding the material upon itself, producing smooth fold edges 31 at the top, with no raw edge showing. These two thicknesses are glued together and the inner thickness 24 extends downward to the tray bottom 4.

Two lock braces 32 extend inward over the tray bottom from the tray ends 30 formed by the upward extensions of the end walls of the body, these braces being preferably continuous with the inner layers 24 of the tray ends. Said braces have interlocking tongues 33 on their inner ends, which when fastened prevent the ends from opening and the body from collapsing.

A folding easel support 35 is partly cut out of the material of the bottom wall 2, to support the dummy box in an inclined position, as shown in Fig. 3. Making the easel support in one piece with the body is an important simplification and means of economy. The easel support comprises two parallel, generally triangular legs 34 bent downward from the inner sides of openings 37 formed in the bottom by the partial cutting out of these legs, and a transverse brace 38 bent 'down from another opening 39 in the bottom, this brace frictionally interlocking with recesses 40 in the legs. The openings in the bottom of the dummy box are in no way disadvantageous, since they are not visible when the box is used as a display and since the enclosure beneath the tray is not designed to hold contents.

The purpose of the tray is to hold a layer of dummy articles 41, such as papier-mach imitations of cigars, though naturally real articles could be used, the effect produced in either case being that of an open box filled with the articles.

The dummy box has been described in terms of orientation of the parts as they are disposed in the set-up condition, but it is equally important that the dummy be capable of being collapsed flat for shipment, and

tion is shown in Fig. 5. The

it is indeed in this condition that the dummy box is manufactured. The collapsed condibody and its integral tray fold flat after the manner of a hinged parallelogram having two of its sides extended. The ends 11 extend straight out from the bottom wall 2, and the braces 32 overlie the folded body and tray. The lid 36 preferably extends straight outward from the folded body.

To set up this dummy box, the rear and front walls 1, 3 are swung at right angles to the bottom wall 2, thereby erecting the front, back and bottom of the tray. The ends 11 are then swung upward so that their inner sides abut the ends of the tray bottom 4, and the lock braces 33 are interlocked over this wall. The display lid assumes its intended position, or is bent to the desired position. The lap 20 at .the base of the lid may be glued in place by the manufacturer, or if not it will be kept in place by the articles placed on the tray.

It is an important advantage of the invention that it is adapted to employ a blank consisting of a single piece of material, though this is not absolutely essential.

4 illustrates the blank, the parts of are designated by the same reference numerals as the corresponding parts of the dummy box,the box, the collapsed box and the blank being but different aspects of the same thing. The panels 1, 2, 3 immediately adjoin each other in the blank, being demarked by the hinge folds 6, 7. The strip 17 intervenes between the panel 3 and the panel 4, this strip being defined by the folds 8*, 8". The glue lap 5 terminates this end of the blank 9, being the fold line between it and the panel 4.

In the opposite direction, the lid panels 18 and 19 and the lap 20 extend in series from thepanel 1, these parts of the blank being demarked by the folds 21, 22, 23.

At the ends of the bottom wall anel 2, and connected with them by hinge olds 10, are the end panels 11. The narrow strips 24 intervene between these panels and the lock braces 32, fold lines 12, 12 defining these strips. The parts of the easel are shown lying in the plane of the bottom panel, where they remain until the'dummy box is to be set up.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it will be understood that made.

I claim:

1. A cardboard dummy display box comprising a collapsible body having front and back walls and a bottom, hinged ends adapted various changes may be to extend outward from the body in the flat condition, a'top on the body connected to the front and back walls and depressed below I upward extensions of the front and back walls connected with the front and back walls below the upper edges of the latter to afford a tray in the upper part of the dummy box,

over upon itself in two thicknessesiat the top and being continuous with said upper wall,

end walls continuous with said bottom wall,

said end walls extending above said upper wall and their material being folded upon itself in two thicknesses at the top.

3. A cardboard dummy display box comprising a collapsible body having a bottom wall, front and back walls, and an upper wall connected with the front and back walls below the upper edges of the latter to afford a tray in the upper part of the dummy box, the material of the front wall being folded over upon itself in two thicknesses at the top and being continuous with said upper wall, end walls continuous with said bottom wall, said end walls extending above said upper wall and their material being folded upon itself in two thicknesses at the top. and members continuous with the inner thickness of the folded tops of the end walls to hold the 7 box in its set-up condition.

4. A cardboard dummy display box comprising a collapsible body having a bottom wall. front and back walls, and an upper wall connected with the front and back walls below the upper edges of the latter to afford a tray in the upper part of the dummy box, the material of the front wall being folded over upon itself in two thicknesses at the top and being continuous with said upper wall, end

walls continuous with said bottom wall, said end walls extending above said upper wall and their material being folded upon itself in two thicknesses at the top. and flaps continuous with the inner thicknesses of the folded tops of the end walls and hinged to said end walls at a height so that the flaps can overlie said upper wall and hold the box in its set-up conditidh.

5. A cardboard dummy display box comprising a collapsible body having a bottom wall, front and back walls, and an upper wall connected with the front and back walls below the upper edges of the latter to afford a tray in the upper part of the dummy box, the material of the front wall being folded over upon itself in two thicknesses at the top and being continuous with said upper wall, end walls continuous with said bottom wall, each of said end walls extending above said upper wall and being folded upon itself in two thicknesses at the top, and a display lid continuous with the back wall and composed of two thicknesses of material folded upon itself.

6. A cardboard dummy display box comprising a collapsible body having a bottom wall, front and back walls, and an upper wall connected with the front and back walls below the upper edges of the latter to afford a tray, the material of the front wall being folded over upon itself in two thicknesses at the top and being continuous with said upper wall, end walls continuous with said bottom wall, each of said end walls extending above said upper wall and being folded upon itself in two thicknesses at the top, and a display lid continuous with the back wall and composed of two thicknesses of material folded upon itself, the front thickness of the lid terminating in a lap which folds down within the back of the tray.

7. A cardboard dummy display box comprising an open-ended four-walled parallelogram body, with its walls connected and extensions of its front and rear walls above the upper wall, a display lid connected with the extension of the rear wall, and hinged end walls which also extend above the upper wall, so that an open-top tray is formed in the top of the body, the bottom of said tray being parallel with and spaced a substantial dis-- tance from the bottom of the body, the whole being adapted to collapse flat.

8. A cardboard dummy display box comprising an open-ended four-walled parallelogram body, with extensions of its front and rear walls above the'upper wall, a display lid connected with the extension of the rear wall, hinged end walls which also extend above the upper wall, so that an open-top tray is formed in the top of the body, the bottom of said tray being parallel with and spaced a substantial distance from the bottom of the body, and braces connected with said end walls, the whole being adapted to collapse flat and said braces extending into contact with the front and rear walls to hold the box against collapsing.

9. A cardboard dummy display box comprising an open-ended four-walled body, with extensions of its front and rear walls above the upper wall, a display lid connected with the extension of the rear wall, hinged end walls which also extend above the upper wall, so that an open-top tray is formed in the top of the body, and braces connected to the end walls in position to extend from said end walls over the upper wall of the body, the whole being adapted to collapse flat.

FRANK A. MARX. 

